If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

My XO-1 mods

Bought an XO-1 off of a seller on ebay a couple of weeks ago and I have to say WOW... Seriously??? Not bashing on Traxxas or anything but hmmm... This thing is suppose to go 100+ with all the slop/play everywhere?

The car is now completely stripped and the modding process has begun Time to make this thing a 100+ arrow…

1st the main source of the problem, the front steering block and that funky screw with the the built in bushing? I’m replacing the screw/bushing with 3x6x2.5 flanged bearings. Since it’s a 5mm opening and the smallest OD flanged bearing is 6mm I’m reaming it out to 6mm top and bottom.

Get the best and highest ABEC rated bearings (not ceramic guys) cause it will take some beating @ 100+. You don’t wanna go cheap here cause the last thing you would want this car to fail on you while driving is the steering… Next lathe the steering block down evenly on both top and bottom and you’re done!!!

It's actually sandwiched between flanged bearings, 4 bearings total per side, 8 3x6x2.5 flanged total. Lathe the bearing block down at 5 degree angel so there's no binding between the block and outer part of the bearing

Great idea for the front steering. Was thinking of ways to fix this. I have ordered some 1/8 id bronze bushings for the a-arm pivots. I will also be installing them in the bulkheads. The od of the bearings is 3/16 which will weaken the arm slightly so I will be adding a carbon fiber wrap around to strengthen it.
Where did you order your flanged bearings for the steering? The bushings I ordered took three weeks to get. These small sizes are not common.

I picked up these a-arms thinking they might have addressed some of the slop but no good. I think I may use your 3.5mm shock shaft idea on these. They are slightly thinner than the stock a-arm so thare may not be enough material for the bushings to be fitted.

yep it will be very unstable @ 100+, the intake will act like a parachute and it will flip very easily. the only solution would be more weights to hold down the front, or canards to product more down force. I'm going with canards and stiffen the front end of the body

the middle part of the body is pretty weak without any support. so my solution 5th and 6th body post. I'll probably mount it using magnets instead of using body pins and drill a hole. if it flips over the body post wont last too long grinding on pavement

Wow... That looks MEAN! Def throw down some black mesh on the front for sure, IMO. Thatd looks sic, But great job, and clean work. I too am ALL about removing slop big time. Even on vehicles that dont go anywhere near 100mph. Nice work!

DBG I'm using 3s 2200mah lipos for the fans. Connect the fans in a parallel configuration and add a plug to make it simple.

I've seen some of the mods where people cut the exhaust sticker right on top of the diffuser for rear vent, I'm cutting the part where it looks like a license plate area right below the lights right in the middle. That's where I'm thinking it's causing the rear drag, and plus it wont mess with the air flow of the rear diffuser.

I just did a very similair mod to mine except I used custom gage pins to make the hinges. I had some gage pins made in .130 diameter and also .131. Then I reamed the arms to accept the pins and it really tightened things up. I had over .135 of slop at some of the wheels before and most of that has been eliminated. Made a huge difference. Took me about 3 weeks to get the pins though. If I were more familiar with RC stuff I would have done what you did with the shock shafts.

Also, another thing I noticed when I took it apart to do this.......I had RPM rear control arms. They were distorted (elongated) at the hinge pin and BADLY bent where the shock mounts. This effectively lowered the car and it was worse on one side then the other. I had no idea until I took it apart. In the future I am only using the Traxxas ones because I would rather have them break then bend and cause other problems. I'm not slamming the RPM arms. They are fine on a truck, I just think they probably don't belong on the XO-1.

Also, I like your mods but I'm curious why you did the front air dam mod. Where will the air go? I think it's better to force it over the car and use it for downforce then to channel it inside. Maybe I'm missing some stuff you haven't posted.

With body mods I have been doing, I have been able to apply enough downforce to scrape the front end and I don't even use the "high speed splitter" for drag reasons.

maybe you can share how you get that much downforce with the rest of us. I am currently building my xo-1 to get better than 120 mph which is not easy. just keeping it down would be the problem. so far no luck and lots of money wasted on motors